This new classic
Christmas gift book "brings together two great traditions: the
Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and the neighbor-helping-neighbor
program of Habitat for Humanity." Opening in Depression-era New York
City, The Carpenter's Gift tells the story of eight-year-old Henry and
his father selling Christmas trees. They give a Christmas tree to
construction workers building Rockefeller Center and celebrate together.
Through the kindness of the construction workers and neighbors, Henry
gets his wish for a nice, warm home to replace his family's drafty
shack. He plants a pinecone from that first Rockefeller Center Tree. As
an old man, Henry repays the gift by donating the enormous tree that has
grown from that pinecone. After bringing joy to thousands as the
Rockefeller Center tree, its wood will be used to build a home for
another family in need.

Written by children's nonfiction author
David Rubel in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity. Gorgeous
illustrations crafted by Jim LaMarche.

Behind the Scenes: The Making of THE CARPENTER'S GIFT

You can check out all four of the Habitat for Humanity and THE CARPENTER'S GIFT videos here.

Because The Carpenter’s Gift is my second project with Habitat for Humanity, peoplesometimes think the two books are linked. They’re both about Habitat, right? But thatisn’t how I see them. The first book I wrote is about Habitat and the people who workwith it; but The Carpenter’s Gift is about something else. It’s about me, and maybe it’sabout you, too.

My association with Habitat began in 2008, when I received a call out of the blue askingme whether I’d like to collaborate on a book celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary ofthe annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project. I had heard of Habitat, of course,but I really knew very little about the organization beyond its association with housing.As a presidential historian, however, I knew quite a bit about Jimmy Carter, and it tookme only about thirty seconds to recover and say yes. The result was If I Had a Hammer:Stories of Building Homes and Hope with Habitat for Humanity, published in the fall of2009.

In researching If I Had a Hammer, I had an important early decision to make: should Ivolunteer as part of my research or not? After some back-and-forthing, I decided againstvolunteering because I didn’t want my experience to color the stories that other peoplewere telling me about their experiences with Habitat. So I waited until after the bookwas written before traveling to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to volunteer with the 2009 CarterWork Project. Having talked to so many people about the Carter builds, I thought I knewwhat to expect. But there is still a great difference between listening to a description of arollercoaster ride and taking the plunge oneself.

It turned out to be a good thing that I postponed volunteering, because my experience inThailand gave me a lot to think about. Working hard for ten or more hours a day with twothousand other people, building a community of eighty-two homes that didn’t exist theweek before, is so thrilling while it’s happening that it inevitably raises the question, Whycan’t my life be like this every day?

Returning from Thailand, I took advantage of the Thanksgiving break to collapse on theliving room couch for a few days. While I dozed, my young children watched holidaytelevision. One night, they turned to the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.Having grown up in Manhattan, I’d visited the tree many times, and from my Habitatresearch I knew that since 2007, Tishman Speyer, the owners of Rockefeller Center, haddonated lumber milled from each year’s tree to build a Habitat home. As I watched thelighting with my kids, I thought about this remarkable gift and realized that it could bethe touchstone for a different kind of story about Habitat—one that expressed what I hadthought and felt in Thailand.

When I interviewed President Carter for If I Had a Hammer, he told me something thathas stuck with me ever since. He said that the distance between the haves and the have-nots in our society is so great that no single person can span it by himself. The presidentcalled this gap a “chasm,” and he said that the only way to cross it was over a bridge. Hestarted the Carter Work Project, he said, because Habitat provides exactly this kind ofbridge, allowing people from both sides to come together and connect with one another in

a mutually redeeming way.

President Carter’s insight helped me to make sense of my own experience with Habitatand thereby inspired The Carpenter’s Gift, which is fundamentally a story about givingand receiving. Material resources change hands in the story, and they’re certainlyimportant, but much more important are the feelings that pass between the characters.

For me, the great joy of writing is the opportunity it gives me to express myself. BecauseI write primarily history, most of what I express in my work are ideas—intellectualconstructs that attempt to make sense of what has happened and explain why events tendto take the course they do. With The Carpenter’s Gift, however, I had a chance to expresssomething else—a feeling, which is altogether different from an idea.

I’ve often thought that people become attached to books for one of two reasons: eitherthe book teaches them something they don’t know, or it reminds them of something theyalready know but have forgotten. Whichever is true, beloved books inspire readers tobecome better people. It’s my hope that The Carpenter’s Gift can have a similar effect,helping young readers learn something they may not know about giving and receivingand helping older readers remember something they may have forgotten.

Thanks to Random House Children's Books, you can win a copy of THE CARPENTER'S GIFT of your own just in time for the holidays! Enter below.

oops - I commented before I knew the topic for the giveaway. One of my favorite traditions is giving my daughters a Christmas picture book and a pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve. Since we went to NYC not too long ago, this would make the perfect gift!

Every year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving we haul out the box of Christmas books we have packed away all year. I let the girls practice wrapping them, and we unwrap one every day during December - a literature-infused advent activity!

My favorite part of Christmas each year is putting up and decorating the Christmas tree. Each ornament holds a memory. Our nativity set was handmade by my mother in a ceramics class. And there is just something special about that moment when the star is placed at the top.

One of my favorite traditions is going out with my husband and boys and cutting down our Christmas tree. It is something we make sure to do every single year. Thanks for the giveaway! I just shared The Christmas Tugboat on my blog, which has a similar topic!

welcome!

Hi! I'm Jillian Heise (pronounced Hi-Z). I'm a K-5 Library Media Teacher in southeastern Wisconsin. I previously taught 7th & 8th grade ELA in the Milwaukee area for eleven years & am National Board Certified. I am a passionate advocate for student choice in reading and the power of shared stories through #classroombookaday picture book read alouds. I also bring my literacy expertise and knowledge of books to my role as Chair of the WSRA Children’s Literature Committee.

In accordance with FTC regulations, this policy is valid from 1 August 2010. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by Jillian Heise. At times, I receive books for free from publishers or authors in exchange for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own and I am not compensated for opinions or reviews.